A machine may include a transmission coupled to a power source, such as a natural gas engine, to enable the machine to be repositioned and/or to travel between locations. For example, natural gas engines, such as high power natural gas engines, may be used in a pumping station, a genset, a generator, a drilling machine, a vehicle, a backhoe loader, a cold planer, a wheel loader, a compactor, a feller buncher, a forest machine, a forwarder, a harvester, an excavator, an industrial loader, a knuckleboom loader, a material handler, a motor grader, a pipelayer, a road reclaimer, a skid steer loader, a skidder, a telehandler, a tractor, a dozer, a tractor scraper, or other equipment.
The power source may include an ignition system and an engine control system, such as an engine control module (ECM), that is configured to control a voltage provided to a spark plug. The engine control system may cause a driver of the ignition system to provide a current to a coil of the spark plug. Based on providing the current to the coil, the engine control system may cause a voltage to develop in electrodes of the spark plug. When the voltage satisfies a threshold value, such as a dielectric strength of a gas forming a gap between the electrodes, current may flow across the gap causing a spark, which may enable the natural gas engine to combust natural gas in a combustion chamber of the natural gas engine. However, as wear occurs to the electrodes of the spark plug, the gap between the electrodes may increase, which may result in a higher voltage being required to cause the spark. As a result, spark plugs may need to be replaced after a particular period of time as a result of an inability to achieve a sufficient voltage to cause the spark.
One attempt to improve ignition systems is disclosed in United States Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0206123 that was filed by MAN Diesel & Turbo SE on Jan. 16, 2013 (“the '123 patent publication”). In particular, the '123 patent publication discloses a voltage converter constructed to “convert a voltage applied to [ ] primary terminals into a higher voltage.” The ignition system, disclosed in the '123 patent publication, includes an electrical capacitance to deliver charge to primary terminals of a voltage converter over a specific discharge time.
However, controlling a discharge time and/or other parameters and converting a voltage to a higher voltage may not result in achieving a threshold voltage for causing a spark as wear on the electrodes increases. An engine control system, of the present disclosure, configured to cause a resonance boosted ignition voltage solves one or more problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art.